So what are YOU doing about it?

Disclaimer: I’m not a tree hugger but I’m starting to realise – For things to change we’ve got to change!!

We’ve got a really big problem in Ballito and if it doesn’t start to rain soon we’re literally going to be out of water by Feb/March 2015!!!

I grew up in the Eastern Cape and lived the drought season as a child. I remember all bathing together in minimal water and then using the bath water to fill toilet cisterns, so it’s not entirely foreign to me. BUT I have never been in a situation where we might get water delivered via water tankers!!! And with the prospect happening whilst I have a new-born its quite scary.

It has however prompted me to make some changes ….for the better. Ones that I’ve been thinking about for forever but never done anything about. It’s also made me think about what other people are doing.

We are SO quick to bitch about the situation and then do NOTHING about it.

I for one bought several of those reusable shopping bags when the new law was implement in this country and we got charged 32c or whatever for a plastic shopping bag. And did I stick to it…OF COURSE NOT! It was so much easier to absorb the R3 in shopping bags per shopping spree than to remember the reusable ones in my boot. So 6 weeks ago I threw all the plastic packets away. Hauled the reusable ones out and popped them in my boot. I’m still learning though and I KEEP on forgetting the bloody bags in my boot. But I can proudly say I haven’t bought a packet in 6 weeks. I refuse to do it and I WILL punish my pregnant self for forgetting the bag in the boot. The packers at the store think I’m mad because I tell them to place the goods back in the trolley, but I haven’t bought a packet and so I have made a difference….albeit a small one.

And for three weeks we have been saving Daniel’s bath water and flushing toilets with it. Yes it’s a pain in the arse to refill the loo but do you know that I save 5l of water every time we flush that loo.

Something that’s recently irked me is that in all of this I have become acutely aware of how irresponsible suppliers are. For example I bought three hand washes for our house and they started to run out. So I went to get a refill. Do you know it is cheaper for me to buy three new containers than a bottle/plastic refill to refill each container? You actually get punished for trying to do the right thing. Where is the responsibility from the supplier side and should I be expected at a consumer to pay a premium because I want to save the environment?

Ok so I’ll get off my soapbox now but I wanna ask you this. What are YOU doing to try make a difference and save this precious planet????